Center News and Notes

The Center co-founder Richard White, an American historian, analyzes the United States’ history from 1865 to 1896 and provides a fresh perspective on the time period, which was marked by rising inequality and corruption.

“This past September,” writes Carson Smith, “I had the opportunity to see my tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, take a step away from the adversarial system in their family courts and instead rely upon a traditional, restorative justice system— the Peacemaking Circle.”

“Hell and High Water,” a joint project of The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, has won the 2017 Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism. The award will be presented at Stanford University on Nov. 15.

From working at organizations around the West to interdisciplinary courses and research projects on campus, Stanford undergraduates describe the transformative role of the Bill Lane Center for the American West on their academic careers.

How wildfires are compromising western reservoirs; powerful California irrigators say ‘no’ to Delta tunnel plan; Montana leads in warming climate; and the end nears for a Mexican porpoise: some of the best recent environmental reads.

California’s wildfires have destroyed homes and communities, and even people hundreds of miles away are feeling the effects of smoke. Stanford faculty weigh in on the health effects and increasing frequency of fires.